The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute is sharing the U.S Department of Agriculture’s recently released bids for more than 1.4 million cases of canned Alaska pink salmon, 300,000 cases of canned Alaska sockeye salmon and 15 million pounds of Alaska pollock fish sticks and fillets. Each case of salmon consists of 24 cans, regardless of size. All of the pink salmon will be in “tall” cans that contain 14.75 ounces, and the sockeye salmon will be split between the 14.75-ounce “talls” and the smaller 7.5-ounce “halves.” These products will be distributed through USDA’s food and nutrition programs this year.
The salmon and pollock products will be sourced in the U.S. from Alaska’s sustainably managed fisheries. This purchase will be a boon for Alaskan fishermen, processors and communities who have faced challenging market conditions in 2023.
At the request of the seafood industry, ASMI initiated requests of the secretary of agriculture for assistance under Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1935. This program assists U.S. agricultural food markets by purchasing commodities to relieve market surpluses. Bruce Schactler, ASMI’s Global Food Aid Program director, worked closely with USDA, industry and the Alaska delegation in Washington, D.C., throughout the process, which relies on economic review of the sector to gauge need. Senator Lisa Murkowski, Senator Dan Sullivan and Representative Mary Peltola were instrumental in supporting the requests and securing approval from the secretary of agriculture, the arbiter of the program.
ASMI and the Alaska seafood harvesters, processors and industry appreciate the USDA’s partnership to support the Alaska seafood industry. ASMI encourages USDA to continue to expand access to high-quality, health-promoting, sustainable wild Alaska Seafood for its program participants and align their offerings with dietary guidelines that recommend two servings of seafood per week for all Americans, starting at one year of age.
